How Channel 4's brilliant new show No Offence is shaking up the police drama

How do you go about making a police drama that will stand out in today’s saturated market, where every second show seems to deal in coppers and crime? The answer, according to the inimitable television scriptwriter Paul Abbott, is by making it as exhilarating, ballsy and as filthily funny as you can.

His new show No Offence, which starts on Channel 4 this month, tells the story of a motley crew of coppers at a Manchester police station, and plays something like an X-rated version of dearly departed police soap The Bill. Meanwhile, at its core it boasts a close-to-the-knuckle humour and raucous humanity reminiscent of the early years of Abbott’s most famous series Shameless – even though its characters are notionally more professional…